How to Register Company in Singapore

If you are a foreign individual or corporate bent on a new company setup in Singapore, then let me tell you, you have chosen well. Singapore is an ideal business destination. As per the World Bank Report 2020, it is 2nd best place to do business. Here is a guide to help you speed up your company registration in Singapore.

Innovative business ideas can grab you by the throat and make you take action, such as company registration. If you are at such a juncture, do not hesitate. Your inexperience with the Singapore business environment or lack of knowledge about how to go about company registration in Singapore doesn’t count. Don’t let it stop you.

Steps to a New Company Setup in Singapore

In Singapore, you can hire one of the agents or providers of company registration services for the task. For an affordable fee, you can leverage their expertise to start your new Singapore company without any hassles. Even ACRA, the Company Registrar, advise it. If you are local, then you too can hire an agent and outsource the task. Let us see the steps that will assist you in getting the job done.

#Step 1. Choose the Right Business Structure

The first step to company registration in Singapore is choosing the right business structure that will fulfil your needs. You can choose to form a private limited company, sole proprietorship, or limited liability partnership.

The private limited company is popular with business owners as it limits their liability to the amount they have invested in its shares. It has a legal identity separate from its owners.

#Step2. Setup Business in Singapore with ACRA

You need to apply to ACRA for your new company setup in Singapore and afterwards complete a few post-registration procedures. Before you initiate the process, make sure that you have:

At least one shareholder
At least one local director
At least one company secretary
Minimum paid-up capital of S$
Registered local address
Let us see the two procedures to complete company registration in Singapore.

#Procedure A) Register Company Name: First, you need to check the availability of a company name in the registry and register it by paying the appropriate fee to ACRA. Your agent can help you with the task by visiting the BizFile+ portal.

#Procedure B) Apply to Register Your Company: Next step is to apply to ACRA to register your Singapore company. You also need to submit your incorporation and KYC documents to ACRA. Your agent, as an authorised entity, can do it for you and also pay the ACRA’s fee to register your company.

In normal circumstances, ACRA takes about 1–3 days to process an application to setup business in Singapore. On successful company registration, the agency sends an email containing the incorporation certificate, unique entity number, business profile, and etc.

If your application gets referred to higher authorities, then the approval may take up to 2 months. ACRA fees for a new company setup in Singapore comes to around S$315 (S$15 for company name registration and S$300 for company registration).

Post Company Registration Tasks

After successful company registration in Singapore, you need to complete a few tasks before you could start your business activities.

Open corporate bank account in a local Singaporean bank
Apply and acquire business licenses and permits
Open CPF account and top it up
Pay statutory levies
Register for GST
Hire auditor
The email sent by ACRA on successful company registration acts as the Incorporation Certificate in Singapore. You can obtain its hard copy by paying a small fee to ACRA. Opening a corporate bank account is an important step. It will separate your personal and business finances.

Choose your company name carefully, as ACRA has the right to reject vulgar, blacklisted, inappropriate company names. It will only delay your company registration Singapore. Under the Home Office scheme, you can also use the address of an HDB or URA flat for company registration in Singapore. However, you need permission from proper authorities to do so.